History

As the Battle of the Atlantic drew to a close during World War II, the Admiralty was
looking into the future and saw the continued need for a high-performance specialised
anti-submarine aircraft. One of several proposals put forward was one from Fairey Aviation
to produce a twin-engined version of their successful Firefly fighter (with the second
engine buried in the fuselage behind the pilot). Fairey had been experimenting with
a twin-engine installation driving contra-rotating propellors since 1935 in the face
of official disinterest. At one point they had a Battle light bomber (infamous because of
the mauling they had received during the Battle of France) fitted with their P.24 engine
driving two props - the Americans were interested for some time in using the P.24 for the
new P-47 Thunderbolt but eventually abandoned the idea.

Armstrong-Siddeley Twin Mamba powerplant; author

As the Admiralty realised anti-submarine aircraft could be fitted with far more advanced systems than
those used during the war, they changed their requirements and issued GR.17/45
in late 1945. Fairey realised that one of their other projects (an observation aircraft with twin Merlins)
would be suitable for carrying the new electronic equipment now available and could be
modified to take two Armstrong-Siddeley Mamba turbojets instead of the bulky and
outdated Merlins originally planned. Driving two large props, the double Mamba installation soon became an
engine in its own right, known imaginatively as the Twin Mamba. While their competitors Blackburns
submitted their YA.7 (later YB.1) design to the Admiralty, Fairey applied the final polish to their design, now known as the
Type Q. With typical decisiveness in August 1946 the go-ahead was given for prototypes
to be built - of both the Blackburn and Fairey machines!

VR546, the Type Q - Gannet prototype, 1949; Fairey Aviation

A little over three years later in September 1949, Fairey's first Type Q prototype - VR546 - was assembled
at their plant at Hayes and transported to Aldermaston for its first flight (on the 19th). The
rival YB.1 had already flown by this point. Early testing of the Type Q
revealed a number of aerodynamic flaws, including large trim changes on flap
deployment, mushy elevator response and some directional instability - the first prototype was damaged in
a take-off accident due to these issues, being grounded for repairs for 3 months. Relatively minor changes
to the elevators, ailerons and rudder soon cleared up most of these problems and deck
trials began soon after. In what appeared to be a competition to produce the ugliest aircraft of all time,
the Blackburn and Fairey types had now been joined by the Shorts SB.3 - an aircraft of such ugliness
that the very air surrounding it recoiled in horror, and thus it had serious problems staying airborne.
The first deck landing by a turbo-prop aircraft was made on HMS Illustrious on 19th June 1950 by Lt. Cdr. G. Callingham
flying the Type Q VR546. With reports of excellent flying characteristics from all the test pilots, the
future for Fairey's new aircraft looked bright. The second prototype was very similar to
the first, but had the search radar installed in a retractable radome under the rear fuselage.
At this point he Admiralty changed their minds and wanted a larger weapons bay (to accomodate torpedoes),
plus an additional cockpit for a dedicated radar operator. The second prototype - VR557 - was already practically
complete so a third had to be ordered to be built with a number of significant changes, including
the larger weapons bay (extended aft, moving the radome aft in the process), a small increase
in wing area (the wing root was moved slightly forward and the innermost section swept back to the
first wing fold, with the rear of the wing root unchanged) and a two-seat rear cockpit.
By now the aircraft was being called the Type 17, or GR.17.

GR.17 WE488 - the third prototype; Fairey Aviation

By the time the third prototype - WE488 - was flying, competitive trials had proven the Fairey type superior
to the Blackburn and Shorts efforts, name Gannet had been given to the type and the programme had gained
Super Priority status, with an order placed for 100 aircraft. The rear cockpit and radome caused more directional instability when lowered, so
Fairey had had to add small finlets to the tailplane - enlarging the tail itself
would have been too expensive and would have impacted on the amount of space
the aircraft could take up onboard ship. Happily for Fairey the late changes in
requirements caused little else in the way of adverse effects, and the loss of the third
prototype in an accident did little to delay the building of a production version - the AS.1.
Unlike the two-seat Type Q and four-seat GR.17, the AS.1 compromised with three seats.
AS.1s began rolling out of the factories in 1953, initially to be used for
development flying. One of the first changes made as a result of this was to extend
the jetpipe length slightly, as the exhaust gasses were being blown back against the rear
fuselage and blackening it. In-service examples would not require regular cleaning of this area as
a result.

AS.1 on display at the 1953 Farnborough SBAC; Fairey Aviation

The Navy received their first AS.1s at RNAS Ford in April 1954 and
intensive trials begin with 703X Flight, whose pilots did not have the luxury
of a trainer version and so were finding out about the completely different
handling qualities of turboprop engines (most importantly that they did not respond to sudden demands
for power in the same way as piston engines). One aircraft was deployed to Egypt for tropical trials as
Fairey had had a fair amount of interest from overseas navies, while the RN's first operational
Gannet squadron (826 NAS) embarked on HMS Eagle and sailed to the Med.
Operational use soon ironed out any remaining difficulties with the engine and
airframe, but the Gannet was considered to a little under-powered, particularly in warmer
climates and with the increased weapon loads the Admiralty now required.

AS.4s XG790 & XA457 of 825 NAS, 1957; Garry Lakin's collection

The need for a trainer had also been recognised and
the first T.2 flew in August 1954, with deliveries to the the FAA beginning in early 1955. This differed little in
appearance from the AS.1/4, other than having the radome deleted and a periscope installed in front of the second cockpit
(so the instructor could see ahead!). An uprated engine was installed in one of the first production AS.1s, making for
superior performance and adding an extra safety margin during the critical take-off phase. Test flown in 1956, the
resulting aircraft was designated the AS.4 and began entering service later in the year; the AS.1 had by this point only
equipped five squadrons, and was entirely replaced by AS.4s by 1958. The T.2 was quickly followed by the T.5 in 1957,
an uprated version in the same way that the AS.4 was a more powerful version of the AS.1.

T.5 UA99 for the German Navy, 1958; Fairey Aviation

The German and Australian Navies were highly impressed by the new aircraft
and both ordered Gannets in 1956. The Australians even settled for AS.1s, with the
intention of exchanging them or converting them to AS.4s when they became available - though
this never actually came to pass as the Australians soldiered on with the AS.1s until 1967, when they
replaced them with Grumman Trackers. In Australian service the Gannets flew from the
carrier HMAS Melbourne and also from the RANAS Nowra shore base. The Germans were content to wait for the
AS.4s (which they began receiving in 1958), but to hurry things along Fairey supplied them with AS.4s earkmarked for
the RN, and also supplied a T.5 so they could begin pilot
training before the AS.4s arrived. In German service with Marinefliegergeschwader 1 (MFG 1) the Gannet
was shore-based at Schleswig (later Nordholz) and their primary job was patrolling the Baltic, until replaced by
helicopters in 1966.

The Gannet's only other export order came from Indonesia in 1959 - a
number of the now-retired AS.1s and T.2s were bought back from the Ministry of Supply to be
converted to AS.4s and T.5s and sold to Indonesia. Interest from other nations
died away as the submarine threat seemed ever less likely to countries now
beginning to recover from the devastation of WWII. A single Gannet deployed to
Canada for trials with the RCN but though impressed with the aircraft, the Canadians
decided not to buy any and chose the Grumman Tracker instead.

AEW.3 prototype XJ440; Fairey Aviation

Prior to the AS.4 in number order but delayed by difficulties with
development was an Airborne Early Warning variant, the AEW.3. Initially
intended to be an AS.1 with the minimum modifications to carry radar equipment
cannibalised from the RN's Skyraiders, this turned out to be impossible and a
new fuselage was required. The AN/APS 20 radar was to be mounted in a radome
underneath the centre fuselage and room would be made for an operator's
position by deleting the second cockpit and moving the exhausts forward of the
wing. A larger tail was necessary to combat the instability caused by the
bulbous radome. Finally flying in August 1958, trials were carried out with
HMS Centaur in November and in December the RN received the first production
AEW.3. Initially lukewarm to the AEW idea, the Admiralty soon realised the
usefulness of such a type when it was realised the new Buccaneer strike aircraft
could easily sneak up on a carrier task force and would be detected far too
late with ship-based radars.

AEW.3 XL455; author's collection

As more AEW.3s came off the production line more trials were carried out and
in August 1959 700G Intensive Trials Unit was formed, continuing the FAA's
tradition of forming a trials unit for each new type introduced into service to
accelerate service acceptance. As the AEW.3 was being introduced into service, helicopter development had
surged ahead of its initially underpowered beginnings, and the Admiralty soon
saw how superior the helicopter could be - not only could they carry out the
anti-submarine mission (and, unlike a Gannet, loiter over a suspected submarine position giving it little chance
to escape) but they also didn't require large carriers and could carry out many other duties.
As a result the AEW.3 would become perhaps the definitive Gannet variant,
with the relatively short-lived anti-submarine variants more or less disappearing from the scene
and the AEW aircraft becoming a common sight and staying in service for many years.

COD.4 XA466, HMS Ark Royal, 1971; author's collection

By mid 1960 the anti-submarine-tasked Gannets were all replaced by the Westland Whirlwind in RN service, but some AS.4s survived to
carry out other duties, with considerable modifications and additions to the aircraft's
electronics suite, giving them the capability to gather signals intelligence and perform a certain
amount of communications and radar jamming - primarily to train RN personnel in how to deal with
electronic warfare. These aircraft were generally shore-based, and rarely went to sea. Initially retaining their AS.1
or AS.4 designations, they were later designated AS.6s, and commonly referred to as the ECM.6. Another minor
variant that stayed in service was the COD.4 - AS.4s modified to become a rather basic transport (COD = Carrier Onboard Delivery)
by removing much internal equipment to free space for extra seats or cargo. These were busy aircraft, acting as
taxis for high ranking officers as well as carrying out that most important of naval resupply missions - delivering
everybody's mail!

AEW.3 XL472, HMS Ark Royal, mid 1970s; John Eacott

Just as the AEW.3 Gannet was proving to be one of the most useful aircraft the
RN had ever operated, including backing up the RAF and Army on numerous
occasions by providing AEW for those services, the UK suffered a change of
government in 1964. While a replacement for the Gannet AEW.3 was planned and
would be very necessary in the next decade, the new government cancelled all these
plans along with the Navy's new large carrier CVA-01 and numerous other planned
defence projects (including of course the TSR.2).
Plans to keep the Gannet in operation for much longer than initially intended
were put into place and the AEW.3s and a small number of COD.4s remained in
service until more defence cuts from another government spelt the end of the
RN's carrier force. The Gannets were flown to Lossiemouth, most to be scrapped.
The radars were rescued and used by the RAF's Shackleton force for land-based
AEW (bear in mind these same radars had been fitted to Skyraiders way back in the 1950s!)
but the RN was now without any form of airborne early warning.

The summer of 1982, less than 4 years after the retirement of the last AEW Gannet, soon
showed the folly of this retirement, with several RN ships lost to low level Argentine attacks
during the Falklands War. AEW coverage would almost certainly have saved these ships - and the
sailors who lost their lives because of short-sighted defence cuts. Only after the Falklands War
did the Royal Navy get back some AEW capability in the shape of hastily converted Sea King helicopters
equipped with basic radar sets (similar to the sets used in RAF Nimrods, and not entirely suitable
for the task). It took until 2002 for more modern and effective radars to be installed on these
Sea Kings - so a full 24 years had passed before the RN got back AEW cover that was as effective as
that provided by the Gannet.

AEW.3 XL502 displaying, May 1988; Garry Lakin

After retirement from RN service, four Gannets enjoyed fairly brief periods of civilian
utilisation, AEW.3 XL482 being refurbished in 1982 and sold to Hamilton Standard in the USA
and flying during 1983 for propeller vibratory stress trials; AEW.3 XL500 flying for Dowty-Rotol
until the mid-1980s for propeller development and noise trials (and currently being restored to flight
once more at Exeter); AEW.3 XL502 was flown by a private owner on the UK airshow circuit until the late 1980s
and the prototype T.5 (and T.2), XT752 was exported to the US in 1995, restored and flown on the airshow circuit there
until 1999. An attempt was made in 2004 to return this aircraft to the UK, but degenerated into a messy
legal wrangle with the aircraft being stranded in Goose Bay in Canada for 6 years before returning to the USA,
where she took to the air once again in 2013. Another restoration to flight is currently underway in the UK with AEW.3
XL500.

Leading Particulars

Variant

Type Q

AS.1

T.2

AEW.3

AS.4

COD.4

T.5

ECM.6

First flight

19 Sep 1949

9 Jun 1953

16 Aug 1954

20 Aug 1958

12 Mar 1956

?

1 Mar 1957

?

Crew

2

3

2 or 3

3

3

2 + 1 passenger

2 or 3

3

Armament

None

2,000 lb of torpedoes, mines, rockets & depth charges

Usually none

As AS.1

None

As AS.1

None

Powerplant

ASMD.1 2950 shp Twin Mamba

ASMD.8 3700 shp Twin Mamba

ASMD.3 3035 shp Twin Mamba

Max. speed (sea level)

?

310 mph

308 mph

299 mph

Service ceiling

?

25,000 ft

Range

?

600 nm

700 nm

575 nm

Empty weight

?

15,069 lb

?

14,528 lb

Max. take off weight

?

19,600 lb

26,000 lb

23,446 lb

Wing span

54 ft 4 in

54 ft 7 in

54 ft 4 in

Wing area

?

483 sq ft

?

483 sq ft

Length

?

43 ft

44 ft

43 ft

Height

?

13 ft 9 in

16 ft 9 in

13 ft 9 in

Production

3

181

38

45

75

6

11

9

Production figures for T.2 includes one AS.1 conversion; for AEW.3 includes one prototype; for AS.4s includes one AS.1 conversion; all COD.4s and ECM.6s were AS.4 conversions; for T.5 includes three T.2 conversions.

Visitor Comments

73 people have commented on this page. This is comment section 1 of 8.

Stephen Beck from Tipton, West Midlands, DY4 0EY

Posted at 11:21pm on Friday, September 15th, 2017

Hi, I was a steward in 849D Flight in 1965. I was fortunate to have a trip with Lt. Miller to do a flyover of the Eagle at Plymouth Navy Days. On way, I spotted some fluid running down the side of the cockpit. It was suspected to be the hydraulics. I was sat next to the navigator, right-hand seat. Lt. Miller decided to abort the flight. We returned to Brawdy and it was either jump or try to land. It was decided to land but with red lights on the hydraulics. Quite an exciting time! We landed safely and went ... read more »read more »

Stephen Jervis from Taunton

Posted at 10:48am on Tuesday, March 14th, 2017

My Uncle Peter Field also died alongside Eric Potter and the pilot Richard Hazelhurst in the crash at Filton on 27/4/1960. Uncle Pete was the flight development technician.

Graham Aucott from earl shilton leics

Posted at 7:07pm on Tuesday, January 17th, 2017

I worked on the double mamba engine at Bristol siddely at ansty nr Coventry we refurbed many of these engines in the 70s I did mainly compressor casing and their matching rotors a messy job because the blades were held in place with wax which melted all over the measuring equipment.

Nigel Godfrey from Caerphilly

Posted at 10:39am on Sunday, June 5th, 2016

With an RN unit temp. based at Lossiemouth 86/87, enjoyed seeing Gannet AEW and a Shackleton as gate sentries. Has the author got inside phots of the COD 4 variant? How many passengers and what range? The youtube clips of the USN trialling a Hercules as a COD are good. Forrestal I think.

James Guthrie from uk

Posted at 11:55am on Thursday, February 18th, 2016

where were GANNETS built have seen White Waltham and Northolt mentioned.

Charles Bratley from Bromborough, Wirral

Posted at 8:18pm on Thursday, December 11th, 2014

I would like to let Fiona Neeson know I was an REM with 849C flight ar Brawdy 65-68 before going on the Ark with them.

Fiona Neeson from Wales

Posted at 3:07pm on Sunday, December 7th, 2014

Hi - anyone in Brawdy between 1965 & 1967 would be good to hear from you - trying to track my uncles best mate who was in 849c during that time at RAF Brawdy in West Wales - look forward to hearing from you

Gordon Lawrence from Melton Mowbray

Posted at 4:39pm on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Joined 849 at Glodcrest in 1966, as a junior out of training. Worked on 3's and 5's. Then went on the Hermes on B flight. Great kite, and a great adventure for a young lad. We had some carriers in those days! Did some detachments to both Ballykelly and Valkenburg.

Roy Pugh from llanelli

Posted at 4:06pm on Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

in the 60s a gannet crashed in the sea off newgale and turned turtle both crew died it took a while to recover bodies isaw that crash

Gerhard Katz from Karlsruhe,

Posted at 6:00pm on Friday, April 11th, 2014

In German Navy service, the Gannet was replaced by the "Breguet Atlantic", not by helicopters.